AB de Villiers wants to bat at No 3 across all formats for South Africa

AB de Villiers on Tuesday expressed that he would like to bat at No 3 in all three formats for South Africa. With over 7,000 runs in Tests at an average of over 50 and 6,000 runs in One-Day Internationals (ODIs), his claim to bat at No 3 stands vindicated. Prior to Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis’ retirement, he usually batted at No 4.

According to a sport24 report, when asked if he considers himself as the world’s best batsman, he responded, “Wow, I’m not so sure about that one.” De Villiers added, “I think it would be a good test if I could for example bat at No 3 in all three formats of the game. That would be ideal, but at the moment Russell Domingo (South Africa’s coach) feels I need to be protected a bit at No 5 in Test cricket because I’m also the wicketkeeper. The only format of the game where I really bat where I want to is in T20 cricket, at No 3.”

When he was asked about who he considered the world’s best batsmen, de Villiers chose Virat Kohli, Kumar Sangakkara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The South African team is currently in Sri Lanka, preparing for the upcoming Tests and ODIs. The first ODI will be held in Colombo on Sunday.

First Published on July 1, 2014, 7:28 pmLast updated on July 1, 2014, 7:28 pm